Da' Cute and Cuddly Call Duck thread!

[Buck Oakes]

Does this mean you're keeping Call ducks in an outdoor pen that's not secured on every side and the top? That's very concerning to me if I'm understanding this correctly. Most common owls in the US are easily able to take a Call duck since owls can lift several times their own weight, unlike most raptors. If you have Calls in a pen with sides but no top, they're basically, umm, sitting ducks when it comes to nocturnal predators.

not to mention something just climbing up the sides, scary

 

[sryglet]

I need some help. I got my first call duck (yay!!!) a few weeks back, and now he's been out of quarantine since Friday. Obviously he was kept far away from my mixed flock during quarantine, and they couldn't see him. For the past few days, they've kind of been able to see him (he was in a raised enclosure), and today, I let him out under close supervision. Four birds - my pekin female, my runner / abacot drake, my runner / cayuga female, and a small easter egger, didn't hardly notice him and were fine with his presence. However, my Sebastopol (the "alpha duck" - she *really* thinks she's a duck) and my small unknown breed chicken (the alpha hen), wanted to chase him around and nip at him. He's so tiny that I couldn't stand to watch him get picked on and I freaked out and picked him up and put him away. Now he's in a small wire enclosure on the ground, right beside their pool, where everyone can investigate him.


How should I go about introducing him to everyone (3 ducks, one Sebastopol, two chickens)?


Here he is... he's about 6 months old. He's a little smaller than a pigeon. His name is Jabba

 

[Amiga]

My new mini Cayuga had side-by-side accommodations till everyone got used to her. At this point, she's with the Runner flock. I do not let her run with the Buff trio, as Bean is a typical drake and too big for her.

 

[sryglet]

My new mini Cayuga had side-by-side accommodations till everyone got used to her. At this point, she's with the Runner flock. I do not let her run with the Buff trio, as Bean is a typical drake and too big for her.

So since he's a drake, do I have to worry about my other drake messing with him? My current drake is also 6 months old and for whatever reason is extremely docile and doesn't really even try to mate with the females.
The only ones that have been concerning me are the one chicken and the goose.

 

[Amiga]

So since he's a drake, do I have to worry about my other drake messing with him? My current drake is also 6 months old and for whatever reason is extremely docile and doesn't really even try to mate with the females.
The only ones that have been concerning me are the one chicken and the goose.

I think that we need to be aware regardless - ducks often surprise me. Ducks I thought would get along don't, ducks that I thought would ignore others, don't. Anticipated conflicts don't arise - so watching carefully and being ready to intervene and mix things up to protect all of them are what I try to do. I do tend to watch drakes more closely, I admit.

 

[sryglet]

I think that we need to be aware regardless - ducks often surprise me. Ducks I thought would get along don't, ducks that I thought would ignore others, don't. Anticipated conflicts don't arise - so watching carefully and being ready to intervene and mix things up to protect all of them are what I try to do. I do tend to watch drakes more closely, I admit.

I plan on watching him when I let him out the next few times - but obviously I can't always be watching. So should I just keep a close eye the next several times he's out and either make a separate pen for him if it's not going well or just trust him to be alone with them if everything does go well? It's normal for everyone to pick on him a little at first, right?
They're free range until it begins to get dark, then they're moved to a sturdy enclosure (he will probably always have his own separate house for night time) so he'll have plenty of room to escape if they're picking on him.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

So since he's a drake, do I have to worry about my other drake messing with him? My current drake is also 6 months old and for whatever reason is extremely docile and doesn't really even try to mate with the females.
The only ones that have been concerning me are the one chicken and the goose.

I think that we need to be aware regardless - ducks often surprise me. Ducks I thought would get along don't, ducks that I thought would ignore others, don't. Anticipated conflicts don't arise - so watching carefully and being ready to intervene and mix things up to protect all of them are what I try to do. I do tend to watch drakes more closely, I admit.

I agree with Amiga here about not taking anything for granted. I'd be very concerned about a little 1.5 pound drake around something as large as a Sebastopol that's already showing some level of aggression. I would stick to that little drake like glue if I were you anytime he's exposed to the others, and I'd say you need to do that for at least several weeks. Please take it from someone who's had a recent death...There aren't many things more pitiful than a little dead Call duck that died of something you could have prevented.

 

[sryglet]

I agree with Amiga here about not taking anything for granted. I'd be very concerned about a little 1.5 pound drake around something as large as a Sebastopol that's already showing some level of aggression. I would stick to that little drake like glue if I were you anytime he's exposed to the others, and I'd say you need to do that for at least several weeks. Please take it from someone who's had a recent death...There aren't many things more pitiful than a little dead Call duck that died of something you could have prevented.

I will watch him very, very closely. I think what I'll probably do is let him out a couple of times a day and stay out there with them the whole time he's out, that way I can remove him if I have to.
The Sebastopol is actually very, very friendly, but with her size I was very concerned when she was giving him little territorial nips. She was also following him around and watching him very suspiciously. Now that she can see him in a cage on the ground, she has stood there and watched him for a little while and now she doesn't seem to notice him.

 

[Amiga]

I plan on watching him when I let him out the next few times - but obviously I can't always be watching. So should I just keep a close eye the next several times he's out and either make a separate pen for him if it's not going well or just trust him to be alone with them if everything does go well? It's normal for everyone to pick on him a little at first, right?
They're free range until it begins to get dark, then they're moved to a sturdy enclosure (he will probably always have his own separate house for night time) so he'll have plenty of room to escape if they're picking on him.

I am pleased to see you are aware of the risks. I am not sure that enough room to escape is a perfect arrangement. Animals may corner another, whether there is a roomy area or not. I would certainly initially give him his own space day and night for when you are not monitoring, and then once you have seen that they are not a risk to each other, let them be together if it works out.

With our newest, we kept them separate when we were not nearby at first. After a little while, when we were able to be nearby for several hours and see that they were okay together, we stopped separating her - in fact, she became quite sad separated from the others.

 

[sryglet]

Thank you for the help, Amiga and JadeComputerGal! I will keep a close eye on the little guy and hopefully Lucy Goosey will warm up to him soon